First-Line ER-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatments

Treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer can be complicated and depends on many factors, such as disease burden and the duration of a patient’s disease-free interval from the original diagnosis.

For example, a patient with lymph node soft tissue, such as pleural or bone metastatic disease, would be treated differently than a patient with highly proliferative, liver-predominant, extensive visceral disease.

Joanne Blum, MD, notes that the patient in the latter scenario who is symptomatic would receive chemotherapy up front to control the extensive burden of disease, usually with 2 agents to achieve a rapid response.